Natural Resources Citation (DNR)

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Natural Resource Citation - Now available within TraCS for all sworn DSP officers (3/6/2025).

After a successful DSP pilot, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Natural Resource Citation has now been made available within TraCS for use by all sworn DSP officers for forfeiture violations (non-criminal). 

After a new login to TraCS, users should now see the DNR citation along with the other Quick Add forms.

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Natural Resource Citation Form Design/Functionality

DSP testers report that the functionality of the Natural Resource Citation is nearly identical to that of the ELCI form. The fields within the Natural Resource Citation form are also similar to the ELCI form. Exceptions include a number of additional fields having to do with the documentation of certain DNR-specific violations such as fields for Back Tag, DNR Customer ID, and Hotline.  These fields and several others may not be applicable for the violations that DSP officers use the Natural Resource Citation (DNR) form for, and are most often optional. 

Another notable difference in the Natural Resource Citation (DNR) is the inclusion of a Probable Cause field.  

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Th Probable Cause field is mandatory and is in addition to the Officer Notes field in the Narrative section. 

As is available in the other forms within TraCS, field-specific help/guidance can be accessed by pressing the F2 (help) key while in any TraCS form field.  As with the other forms in TraCS, when the Natural Resources Citation (DNR) has been changed to a Completed status, the form will queued for transmission to the courts & DNR, as well as being available for responses to records requests.  

Natural Resource Citation Form Benefits

There are several important benefits that come with the DSP use of the Natural Resources Citation. One benefit is that the Natural Resources Citation has a more comprehensive list of charging statutes than the ELCI. This includes statutes for violations involving ATVs, UTVs, and Off-Highway Motorcycles (OHM). As the prevalence of these types of vehicles on and around roadways and on shared use all-terrain vehicle roadways has increased, the likelihood of DSP officer enforcement encounters has also increased. 

Perhaps the most significant reason for the use of the Natural Resources Citation over the ELCI relates to its routing to the DNR upon transmission.  Transmission of Completed status Natural Resources Citations has them delivered not only to the circuit courts for prosecution, but also to the DNR for violation tracking and analysis. This provides the DNR with a more comprehensive view of the prevalence natural resources-related violations, including those violations associated with increased ATV, UTV and OHM operation on and around highways. Because of this important functionality, DSP officers should opt for the use the Natural Resources Citation (DNR) over the ELCI or NTC when possible.  

While 345.11 allows for the Uniform Traffic Citation (ELCI) to be used for certain ATV, UTV, snowmobile and other violations, only the use of the Natural Resources Citation (DNR) provides for the routing of citation information to the DNR.

Authority Powers and Duties (limitations of DNR form usage)

While the Natural Resources Citation offers a broad array of categories of charging statutes (Forestry, Commercial Fishing, Water Regulations, Pesticides, etc.), DSP use of the DNR form must be in keeping with the authority, powers and duties outlined in DSP policy pp1-1_2023-auth-powers-duties.pdf and as specified in

Chapter 110.07 Traffic officers; powers and duties. The Natural Resources Citation (DNR) also lacks the ability to be directly transmitted to the District Attorney in the case of criminal charges. Officers should consult with their court officers in these cases.     

Activity Reporting and Report Manager Access

With the Natural Resources Citation (DNR) available in TraCS for all DSP sworn, incorporation of DNR citation information into DSP officer activity reporting is also be pursued.  DNR citation information will also be made accessible to the Report Manager to allow for it to included in existing searches by License Plate, VIN, Name, etc.    

Warning Form (TraCS)

When a citation is deemed as not appropriate for a given violation, the Warning form within TraCS may still be used.  Unlike the ELCI from, the Warning form allows for addition of any/all violations that are available in the ELCI, the Non-Traffic Citation (NTC), and the Natural Resources Citation (DNR). Unlike the Natural Resources Citation however, Completed status Warning forms do not get transmitted to the DNR.   

Additional Resources

More information regarding the TraCS Natural Resources Citation can be found within the TraCS Guides and at the following linked location: DNR Printed Reports - TraCS Guides - Confluence 

WisDOT content related to ATV and UTVs can be found here: Wisconsin Department of Transportation All-Terrain Vehicles and Utility Terrain Vehicles

DNR Information specific to ATV/UTV and OHM regulations and guidance can be found at: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Thank you to all of the DSP staff involved in the testing and pilot of the use of the Natural Resources Citation (DNR).  

Technical questions may be submitted through the WSP IT Service Desk.